Toni worried for James; he just didn't feel right to her. He pooh-poohed her concern telling her that he was perfectly fine, but she wasn't buying it. She was taking his ass to the hospital whether he wanted to go or not. She looked in the medicine cabinet to see what he'd been taking for the flu but saw nothing that would cause what she considered to be confusion. In all of their time together James had never turned on the stove and walked away. Her gut was telling her that something was wrong. It also told her that if she waited she was going to lose him, and she didn't want that.
"Hey, sweetness! Supper's ready!" James called into the bathroom.
He sounded like himself but still...
They ate dinner, pasta with baked chicken on the side, with very little conversation. Toni kept stealing looks at James when he wasn't looking, he just wasn't right.
"James, we're going to the hospital and don't bother arguing with me. Something's not right. If it's nothing, we'll be home tonight. If there's something wrong, I want to know what it is."
"Toni..."
"Don't 'Toni' me," she admonished standing up. "Now get your coat, we're going."
"But..." James protested.
"Dr. James Jacobson, get off your ass and get your coat or else I'll call 911."
James stared at her. She was totally serious and, truth be told, he really should have been over this flu by now. "Alright, Dr. Jacobson, we'll go under one condition," he said.
"You're really in no position to bargain but I'll bite, what's the condition?"
"When we come home, we go straight to bed and start making a baby."
"James..."
"That's the only way I'll agree to go. Toni, I want a baby with you. A boy, a girl, twins, sextuplets, hell, I don't care but I want a baby."
"How about this, we'll talk about it," she countered.
"Promise?" James asked.
"I promise, now get your coat."
James gave her an excited kiss as he went to the hall closet. That was all he really wanted—to, at least, discuss it.
Toni watched him go and smiled. He was such a kid, but he was her kid, and she loved him. She also wasn't fooled; while she waited, she called the hospital.
"Tom? This is Toni Jacobson, I'm bringing James in. I don't know something just doesn't feel right. He's had that bug that's been going around, but it's still hanging on and tonight he was a little confused. He says that it was the cold meds, but I didn't see anything that would cause confusion. I'm just worried about him. Great! We'll see you there."
The night was cold but clear as Toni drove to the hospital. James wanted to drive but she refused. "Just relax. Oh, hey, what's this surprise that you were going to tell me about?" she curiously asked, keeping her eyes on the road.
"Oh that, I'll tell you when we're at home and naked under the covers," he teased.
"Do you ever think about anything other than sex?" Toni teased.
"Ummm no, especially where you're concerned," James replied, rubbing her leg.
Toni glanced at his hand and relaxed a little, reflexively settling back into her seat. This was the James that she knew. Maybe she was worried over nothing.
Dr. Tom Jenson met them in the ER. "James! How in the hell are you?" he asked, shaking James' hand.
"I keep trying to tell my wife, 'the worrier,' that I'm fine, but she doesn't believe me," he replied.
Tom chuckled. "Your wife, 'the worrier,' is one hell of a doctor, and if she's worried we'd better find out why."
Toni was at the computer ordering every lab that she could think of, starting with the basic CBC all the way up to, and including, blood cultures and everything in between. She ordered an MRI and a chest X-ray, and then talked with Tom to be sure that she didn't miss anything.
When the phlebotomist came in with her kit James groaned, he hated needles. Knowing that about him, Toni sat next to him and held his hand and talked to him to distract him. "I was thinking about cooking dinner for new years. You know, a ham and...."
"Toni, you are so not going near the kitchen," James interrupted. "And besides, we're not going to be home."
Toni frowned. "Where are we going? And please don't say your parents."
James laughed. "They can be a bit much, but no, sweetness, we're not going to my parents' house. It's a surprise."
"What is it with you and your surprises?" Toni asked, glad that the last tube of blood had been drawn.
"Oh, I don't know, I just like to keep you on your toes," he replied, kissing her hand and successfully stimulating a pleased shiver from Toni with the warm gesture, like always.
A few minutes later he was taken to X-ray, leaving Toni alone for a few minutes. She said a silent prayer that he would be alright.
Mason thought about calling Eustace after he got back from seeing Katrina and Ethan but opted not to. What would he say? he thought as he sat in a chair and closed his eyes.
Katrina was gone and so was Toni, at least for now. He had decided that he wasn't going to interfere with her marriage, unless it turned abusive. But, from what he could see, it was far from that. There was no use in crying about it now, it was spilled milk and all he could do was wait. In a way he supposed that he owed James a thanks for the way in which he cared for and loved Toni. James loved her in a way that he himself wasn't capable of doing, at least not yet. The saying "physician heal thyself" came to mind and with it thoughts of Eustace.
He swallowed his pride and called him.
"I went to see them," he divulged as soon as he heard the line pick up.
"And?" Eustace prompted.
"It was probably one of the most difficult things that I've ever done, but I saw what we had thought I'd see. She loves him."
Eustace was silent, waiting for Mason to continue.
"I talked to Ethan and came clean about what I needed from him and asked for permission to talk to Katrina, with him there of course, and he agreed. Eustace, she's as beautiful as ever, but I didn't even remotely feel that she cared for me as other than a friend, even when she hugged me."
"What do you need from me?" Eustace asked.
